My Brother's Seceret
by Daughter of Chaos
Summary: Bored to tears and sent to study under the tutilage of his older brother, Goten disovers the unexpected of Gohan. OneShot Rewrite


Disclaimer:

The Sons and the imaginative world they live in were NOT created by me. Other notably name brand products in this story are similarly not mine. That doesn't mean I won't borrow them for a time and return them generally unharmed though

OneShot

Genre: Son Brother Bonding, humor

Rating: G

**My Brother's Secret**

A Tale of Dragon Ball Z

Goten glowered, or as near as his small and typically smiling face could manage, as he dropped the handset of the Son household powderpuff blue phone back into it's cradle. It wasn't fair. Why was it, that when he, Goten, was bored, Trunks just _had _to be grounded? Moreover, why was it that Bulma-san was actually making him stick to the grounding this time?

With a frustrated huff, Goten sank with arms crossed on his small chest into the chair beside the phone. It _really_ wasn't fair. Since he'd finally gotten his Daddy into his life, the youngest Son had discover a wonderful playmate in his father. Even that route of entertainment was thwarted though. His Daddy had gone out sparring with Vegita-san earlier that morning. Mommy hadn't allowed him to go with, she said it was supposed to rain and she didn't want her 'baby boy' out in the rain.

And it was certainly raining. Goten cast his eyes out th window to the gray and daunting clouds beyond, frown marring his features is a comical manner.

So what was he to _do_? Goten cast eyes briefly toward the Son kitchen, where he could hear his Mommy working away on cooking or dishes; maybe both. Lunch would be soon, but his tummy was all ready growling at him, and had been since an hour after breakfast. But mommy said he couldn't snack, and had whacked his hands with her wooden spoon the last time he had tried to sneak in to the refrigerator. It was only the third time, she hadn't needed to be so harsh as to ban him from the kitchen until lunch was actually served.

The boy sighed, kicking his feet against the padding on the front of the chair for a moment before giving up on the set entirely and sprawling instead in an ungainly position on the floral print couch in the center of the den. The child stared for a long moment at the arm of said couch before flopping onto his back and taking up staring at the ceiling. A low rumble of thunder rattled the glass in the window frames. Goten blinked toward the outdoors, briefly entertaining ideas of running to his Mommy or big brother for comfort from the storm. The boy frowned again then, no, he was seven now, he didn't need to be afraid of storms. Little monsters had no fear of lighting and thunder. Nope. Besides, Mommy had banned him from the kitchen and Gohan was stuffed up in their room doing homework.

The boy blinked again. He was BORED. Goten sighed again and rotated one more time on the couch. Butt firmly tucked against the back of the couch, feet splayed against the backrest and head dangling over the edge, Goten observed this new view on the world. The rain apparently falling 'up' was enough to capture his attention for a solid five minutes. Mommy's doily resting on the 'top' of the windowsill was very interesting, and the television stand in the corner and th TV resting on it suddenly seemed a very good idea.

Groping along the edge of the couch from his upside down position, Goten's small hand found the hard plastic of the remote device he sought. He pulled the remote up to an angle coinciding with his face before clicking the bright red power button at the top of it. A grin wormed it's way onto the child's upside-down countenance. His favorite cartoon was just starting! Goten snickered as he watched his favorite characters walk on 'top' of the screen. He outright laughed when a convenient anvil fell 'up' onto the notorious bad guy.

Engrossed as he was, Goten didn't notice his mother's presence at the door frame between the den and the kitchen. Nor did he see her decided frown and the shake of her head on sight of her youngest son. He could not miss her though, as the woman stalked over to the couch and pounded both of her fists soundly on his upraised heels. "Son Goten! What on Earth do you think your doing? Haven't I taught you proper behavior in relation to household furnisher by this point in your life? I swear, that father of yours can be such a bad influence... You turn off that TV and sit the correct way on the couch, you understand me, young man?"

Little Goten pouted, but succinctly did as his mother asked of him. Switching the TV off even as he righted himself on the couch, the child crossed his arms across his chest once more and glowered at the floor below his feet. He caught his mother shaking her head again from the peripherals. "Doubt pout, Goten-chan. I know your bored, but there are so many things you could be doing! Study, read a book, play cards, just do something to exorcise your mind."

Goten wanted to whine, his shoulders slouching and his lower lip sticking out, but he knew better. Still looking to the floor, Goten responded, "Okay Mommy."

Chi Chi, still standing behind the couch, smiled as she patted her son on his tousled locks. "That's my good little boy. You'll be as good of a student as Gohan one of these days."

Goten turned his head slightly, still in full pout, as he watched his Mommy walk back to the kitchen. Tossing the remote somewhat aggressively toward the other side of the couch, Goten scowled off into the weather beyond the window. Why was he _always_ compared to Gohan? It was annoying 'cause Gohan was always studying and his Mommy thought he should always be studying too. Goten didn't blame his big brother, certainly, he just really hated being compared to the scholar-earning Son Gohan.

The boy decided that his Mommy hadn't allowed him TV or sparing for the day, so he really did need something else to keep the boredom at bay. Studying was sworn of as an option right away. Reading... well, he wasn't real good at that yet. But... cards? There was potential in that! The child bounded off the couch to rummage at the bottom of the curio cabinet, coming back up with a card deck in hand. Sliding down in front of the couch on the floor, Goten began leaning a series of cads against one another in a multiple triangle base formation. Plopping cards between each par of cards, and having to rebuild a few times, Goten soon found himself with the ground floor of a nice castle. The boy proceeded to challenge himself to how high he could build his creation.

"Goten, Gohan! Time for lunch, boys!"

Goten smiled happily at this call, turning toward the kitchen greedily and knocking down his four story castle in a careless twitch of his hand. On call for food, however, the boy had lost all interest in cards. Jumping to his feet, Goten bound into the kitchen and to his chair at the table, picking up his chopsticks and reaching for the food at the mid of the table automatically. Chi Chi whacked his hands again with a practiced ease. "Now, you know to wait for your brother, young man," turning her head then, Chi Chi raised her voice toward the boys' shared room down the hall. "Gohan dear, I hate to disturb you from your studies but your lunch is done and I expect you here now or I'll let your brother have at it!"

"Hai, Mom. I'm coming right now!" Came the muffled reply from behind closed doors.

The teenager's voice shortly preceded the teenager himself. Gohan wore a soft blue long-sleeved t-shirt and a pair of well worn and slightly high-water jeans. Like his younger brother, he padded through the Son home on bare feet, slipping in and seating himself at the table. Picking up his chopsticks and eying the food with interest. With a nod of her head, the mother gave the silent signal to div into lunch. With a mutual 'Thank you for the food!' chanted by the two demi Saiya-jins, arms dissipated into blurs as the considerable amount of food was inhaled at an impressive rate.

In short order, both half lings had completed their meals. Goten sank back into his seat with a content belch and a hand on his stuffed tummy. His big brother did much the same thing, with out the belch of course. His mommy though, instead of turning straight to dishes, took a chair at the table and cast her eyes between her two sons.''

After not saying anything for a long moment, Goten shared a confused and somewhat wary look with his big brother before Gohan asked softly, "Mum, is there something wrong?"

Chi Chi tapped her finger nails on the table as she responded. "There is, actually, but I say we can fix it. Goten, you have no interest in your studies! You don't motivate yourself. Today, we're going to start turning that around. Gohan, I want you to begin tutoring your brother, we need to teach him _how_ to study. Starting now."

Goten's lower lip slipped out again and began to quiver for effect. "But Mommy, I..."

"Goten, we WILL have you studying even if it kills one of us! Now then, be a good little boy and go with your brother. Now, you do as he tells you, you hear me?"

Sullenly, Goten responded, "Yes, Mommy."

Gohan said nothing through this exchange, simply watching. The older brother stood and left the kitchen, gesturing quietly for Goten to follow. Goten did. The child trailed his brother back to their shared room and sat on his bed as Gohan closed the door behind them. Goten had expected one of two thing from his elder sibling, either sympathy or stern teacher mode. He got neither.

Goten's eyes widened dramatically to see his brother turn away from the door with a wicked smile on his face. "So Mum wants me to teach you how to study? I'll teach you how _I _study."

Goten swallowed a sudden lump in his throat and his fingers trembled on his blankets. That look from his big brother couldn't be good, it looked like a Trunks look! "Gohan, couldn't we just play with the Great Saiya Team dolls, pretty please?"

The teen shook his head no even as he walked over to their shared closet, pulling down a box labeled, 'Biology on Cassette and other learning Tapes' in their Mommy's neat hand writing. Goten's wide eyes turned automatically to the small TV cabinet in the corner of their room, thinking of the TV VCR combination lurking inside it. Large back irises swung back to Gohan. "Oh no! Big Brother, not the learning tapes! I'll do anything, I wont snack for a day, or... or I wont visit Trunks for a month... or I'll even read something if you want... but you can't have me watch those boring old talking tapes..."

The elder brother knelt beside the cabinet and swung the doors open even as he turned that knowing smile of his on the younger brother. Goten groaned. His mom had had him watch tapes like this before, and the guy that talked through 'em sounded the same no matter what. It made him sleepy. Gohan opened the neatly closed box and reached in, the boy winced, wondering how many tapes Gohan was going to make him watch that he needed to dig in the box with both hands.

Finally, Gohan withdrew his load from the box, into full view for his younger brother. Goten squeaked and tumbled fully of of his bed on sight of it. "Gohan," the boy squeaked, "I didn't know _you_ had a Playstation!"

Gohan chuckled even as he began hooking the counsel up to the television. "Come on, Squirt. Not even _I_ can study all day long."

Goten sheepishly scratched the back of his head at this, sincerely believing his brother could in fact do just that. His big brother burst out laughing at him for the face, obviously reading the thought. He then tossed a controller to the younger and offered the boy the choice of his three games. Goten, who had just stood up, hit the floor again.

Who would have expected that Gohan would have all fighting games?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Author's Free Talk:

Ahah, Gohan's unexpected playful nature! Where did he get the counsel? I'm not entirely sure. But you have to admit, he does an excellent job of hiding it in plain sight!

I've always liked this story, but it was high time she received a shiny new coat of paint from an older and more educated version of her author. And so, as you see, she's been extended, purged, and reformatted for reader (and author) pleasure. Interesting thought, that this was first written in 2000. Re-write as of March, 2007. As always, enjoy folks!


End file.
